Life goal…To stock my fridge like this every week and be a food prep expert! Right now it takes divine intervention to find time to prep food for the week. It’s softball season which means I spend very little time at home. Thanks to a rainy evening, games were cancelled so I had a few minutes in the kitchen this week. If I don’t make time, healthy eating becomes an extreme challenge.
Two words. Concessions stand.
Sunday my kid ate Skittles for breakfast and washed those down with a Gatorade and a salted pretzel with cheese. Sigh.
Let’s talk about food prep…
Thank you for the video Emily – my lovely assistant/daughter!
Planning healthy snacks ahead=less trips to the concession stand. Since time is of the essence, I have learned a few tricks to make my food prep attempts a little more successful.
Step 1- Plan ahead. I used to aimlessly wander the grocery store and buy whatever. Now I plan meals for the week (Thanks Pinterest!) This way I can take inventory of what I need and make a list for everything else. Sometimes this is hard because on sports nights (aka every night) we either eat super early or super late. I usually make ahead or plan crock pot meals during this time of year.
Step 2- Prep my food as soon as I get home. If I don’t do this, I end up wasting food. If fruits and vegetables aren’t cut up and ready to go, they are less likely to get eaten. The fridge is a death trap for uncut veggies! I try to brown meat or cut up chicken ahead of time whenever possible as well.
Step 3: Multi-task. On grocery days, I usually cook dinner while I’m food prepping, helping with homework, and playing catch with my son. Yes. I have done all 4 of those things at once, but I wouldn’t recommend it. (I rarely do one thing at a time) As I am typing this, I am making lasagna for dinner tomorrow since I won’t have time to cook it before we have to eat and run! Even though my crock pot has a timer and will switch to a “warm” setting, the late night dinners end up mushy. So instead I put dinner in the crock pot before bed the night before. (Do NOT tell my mom. She thinks this is a fire hazard. Seriously.) When my husband wakes up at 4:00 am, he turns it off. By the time I leave at 7:00 am, it’s cooled down so I can put it in the fridge. Now it’s ready to eat later or the next day. We reheat a lot. While it’s not always ideal, I figure a decent meal reheated the next day will still taste better than fast food!
If you don’t do any food prep right now, it’s pretty easy to get started. A couple of my must have items:
-Ziploc divided rectangle food containers and a variety of smaller food containers
-Jello shot cups (I’m sure there is a more legit name for these)
-Food: nuts, fruit, cheese, boiled eggs, salad, hummus, veggies, and more
Some of my favorite combos:
– Aussie Bites
– Organics Superfood Power Snacks
-Hard boiled egg, veggies, hummus
-Cheese, crackers, fresh fruit
-Apples, peanut butter, nuts
The jello shot containers come in really handy for dressing, hummus, peanut butter, and nuts. I use the smaller containers for fruit and veggies. My kids like to grab those for a quick snack and then leave the containers wherever they are at that moment in time. Soooooo I end up buying these way too often. I just ordered reusable/washable snack bags from my daughter’s school fundraiser, so I am excited to try those out and maybe save a few bucks.
There are so many options! These are just a few I have tried. What are some of your food prep tips or favorites combinations?